Today was my last day with Elodia. It was sad for me! I have really enjoyed talking with and teaching Elodia. She got to our lesson half an hour late, because of parking. We did, however, learn a lot. I showed Elodia the magic of Google! She knew about the internet and search engines from our first session. This session, she got on the computer, logged on, and immediately clicked the “e” icon for internet explorer. I was so happy to see her just hop right on and know exactly what she was doing. I then gave her the http://www.google.com/ address and she typed it into the URL bar at the top of the screen. I then taught her how she could type in anything into the Google search bar and find anything she wants. The first thing we typed in, though, was Northface, because I remembered from one of our previous conversations that she said she wanted to buy her daughter a Northface jacket for her birthday. So I suggested we type that in, she did, and the Northface homepage came up. We clicked around and looked at some of the jackets. She then asked how she would actually buy it, and so I said we could hypothetically shop right now! We clicked a jacket and selected the quantity, size, and color. I then showed her the “Add to Cart” button. We added the jacket to her hypothetical cart. She liked how it was like an online grocery store. I then told her she would have to “Proceed to Checkout.” The Northface website, however, requires you to have an account set up for you to buy items on their site. I was unaware of this, but it cropped up an interesting issue because an account for Elodia would require her e-mail address. So I asked, “Do you have an e-mail account?” She said no, but I had a nagging suspicion that she had a TCU e-mail. So I went to the mail.tcu.edu site and asked her to type in her normal username and password that we had used on my.tcu.edu. Well, Elodia DID have an e-mail and because she didn’t know about it, she had 360 e-mails!!! We both laughed and I explained that because she had never checked it, these were a lot of old, mass university e-mails. So I showed her what her exact e-mail address is so she could write it down and use it for future things that she wants to do, like the Northface account, and Wellsfargo online banking accounts.
I also showed her how to create a new e-mail, go to the TCU global address book and find people’s e-mail at TCU, and send them e-mails! We sent one to me and I showed her right then how when I log on, there’s her e-mail! Elodia was excited and thought that this was extremely resourceful. I hadn’t really thought about how amazing e-mail is, just because I have become so used to using it constantly without even thinking! I showed her around some more websites, but we did not have a lot of time to explore because of our late start. It was a great last session, though. I was pleased that we got to meddle with the computer one last time, so that Elodia can start using these wonderful online resources. So many people, including myself, forget what an incredible things the internet and e-mail are because we have such easy access to them and are so used to using them. Needless to say, it was a great last insight into the different cultural world Elodia lives in. Her grandbaby, Joseph, is doing well. Her daughter had to have a C-section so she is still in bed and sore. I live in Fort Worth, so I told Elodia if she wanted to continue her tutoring over the summer she could, or relax over the summer, either one! I know I would be completely fine continuing because I have really enjoyed talking to her. She told me to call her after finals and she would let me know whether she wants to take the summer off or do a few sessions. Either way, Elodia has learned so much and I'm very proud of her for all her hard work. My experiences with Elodia have definitely been life lessons and I am glad that I got to work with her.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Eighth Meeting 04-21
This past Tuesday I did not meet with Elodia because Elodia’s daughter had just had her baby!!!! Congratulations to Elodia! I spoke with her on the phone briefly and she was so excited. She was so incredibly thrilled about her new grandbaby, a baby boy. Her daughter and the baby are exhausted, but healthy and happy. It was a little sad, because I did not get to have a session with her and we normally have a good time, but Elodia is very proud of her family and this new addition has only made her happier.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Seventh Meeting 04-14
Today, it was nice to see Elodia again. She was late again, but that was fine because of taking care of her pregnant daughter. We did not have a long session. We spoke a little about how my trip to New York went. I told her a little bit about it, but I did not want to go on and on about it because I know she has not had opportunity to travel hardly at all. I felt like it would be rude to discuss a lot of the trip because of being able to go on that trip. Elodia would never say anything but sometimes I almost guilty about the opportunities that I have had. We also talked about her daughter, who is pregnant with a baby boy. She had the baby shower for her last week and said it went really well. She talked about all the presents her daughter got and how good the shower went. I know she was glad it went well, because I know Elodia did a lot of planning and preparation for it. Her daughter is actually going to be giving birth this upcoming weekend. She has a doctor’s appointment on Thursday. I told her how exciting that was! Elodia said her daughter is just tired, huge, and wants to have the baby. Still, I can only imagine how excited her whole family is.
We talked a little bit more about her family and her grandchildren and then we began to read an article from the Skiff. Elodia chose the Living Learning Communities article after I explained a little bit about what they are. I think this article was difficult for her because it was written in a way that referenced people speaking earlier in the article towards the end, and had a lot of difficult vocabulary. As we read, some of the quotes given by interviewees were clearly hard for Elodia to understand and I found myself explaining a lot. Even I had to read the quotes and statements over a couple of times, so that I could explain what they meant properly. The article gave both sides of the story. I basically gave the background about how the media had portrayed the LLC’s as a separation of certain groups from the rest of the student body and how the administration felt that, that was an intentional doing. We talked about the committee that Provost Nowell Donovan is heading up and how they are going to create guidelines for the new LLC’s. I told Elodia that this committee has been met with backlash from some students in the LLC’s because the committee will be forwarding their recommendations on to the board of trustees and students feel like the people making the “guidelines” have no interaction with the on-campus community, therefore are unhappy. I explained both sides. Elodia said she understood the rules needed to be in place but could also see both sides of the story as well.
We finished the article and then she talked a little bit about how her team got better cleaning equipment but the team has to haul this heavy machinery between buildings. She talked a little bit about the politics of the team and how they decided who would haul when. Elodia also said that people on the team were trying to take vacations on their week to haul the machine between the buildings. I think the politics of the student body and the administration regarding the LLC’s made her think of the politics in among her staff. It was very interesting to hear her perspective and her view of people’s perspectives.
We talked a little bit more about her family and her grandchildren and then we began to read an article from the Skiff. Elodia chose the Living Learning Communities article after I explained a little bit about what they are. I think this article was difficult for her because it was written in a way that referenced people speaking earlier in the article towards the end, and had a lot of difficult vocabulary. As we read, some of the quotes given by interviewees were clearly hard for Elodia to understand and I found myself explaining a lot. Even I had to read the quotes and statements over a couple of times, so that I could explain what they meant properly. The article gave both sides of the story. I basically gave the background about how the media had portrayed the LLC’s as a separation of certain groups from the rest of the student body and how the administration felt that, that was an intentional doing. We talked about the committee that Provost Nowell Donovan is heading up and how they are going to create guidelines for the new LLC’s. I told Elodia that this committee has been met with backlash from some students in the LLC’s because the committee will be forwarding their recommendations on to the board of trustees and students feel like the people making the “guidelines” have no interaction with the on-campus community, therefore are unhappy. I explained both sides. Elodia said she understood the rules needed to be in place but could also see both sides of the story as well.
We finished the article and then she talked a little bit about how her team got better cleaning equipment but the team has to haul this heavy machinery between buildings. She talked a little bit about the politics of the team and how they decided who would haul when. Elodia also said that people on the team were trying to take vacations on their week to haul the machine between the buildings. I think the politics of the student body and the administration regarding the LLC’s made her think of the politics in among her staff. It was very interesting to hear her perspective and her view of people’s perspectives.
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